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Text -- Galatians 4:12 (NET)

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Context
4:12 I beg you, brothers and sisters, become like me, because I have become like you. You have done me no wrong!
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics

Dictionary Themes and Topics: THORN IN THE FLESH | Minister | Love | Judaism | GALATIANS, EPISTLE TO THE | more
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Word/Phrase Notes
Robertson , Vincent , Wesley , JFB , Clarke , Calvin , TSK

Word/Phrase Notes
Barnes , Poole , Haydock , Gill

Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes , Geneva Bible

Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis , Combined Bible , MHCC , Matthew Henry , Barclay , Constable , College , McGarvey , Lapide

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Robertson: Gal 4:12 - -- Be as I am ( ginesthe hōs egō ). Present middle imperative, "Keep on becoming as I am."He will not give them over, afraid though he is.

Be as I am ( ginesthe hōs egō ).

Present middle imperative, "Keep on becoming as I am."He will not give them over, afraid though he is.

Vincent: Gal 4:12 - -- Be as I am ( γίνεσθε ὡς ἐγώ ) Better, become as I am; free from the bondage of Jewish ordinances.

Be as I am ( γίνεσθε ὡς ἐγώ )

Better, become as I am; free from the bondage of Jewish ordinances.

Vincent: Gal 4:12 - -- I am as ye are ( κἀγὼ ὡς ἐγώ ) Rather, I became . Supply ἐγενόμην or γέγονα . Become as I am, for I beca...

I am as ye are ( κἀγὼ ὡς ἐγώ )

Rather, I became . Supply ἐγενόμην or γέγονα . Become as I am, for I became a Gentile like you. Comp. Phi 3:7, Phi 3:8. For the phrase γινέσθαι ὡς to become as , see Mat 6:16; Rom 9:29; 1Co 4:13; 1Co 9:20-22.

Vincent: Gal 4:12 - -- Ye have not injured me at all ( οὐδέν με ἠδικήσατε ) This translation misses the force of the aorist, and conveys a wrong...

Ye have not injured me at all ( οὐδέν με ἠδικήσατε )

This translation misses the force of the aorist, and conveys a wrong impression, that Paul, up to this time, had received no wrong at the hands of the Galatians. This was not true. The reference is to his earlier relations with the Galatians, and is explained by Gal 4:13, Gal 4:14. Rend. ye did not injure me at all . Ye did not injure me then, do not do so now.

Wesley: Gal 4:12 - -- Meet me in mutual love.

Meet me in mutual love.

Wesley: Gal 4:12 - -- I still love you as affectionately as ye once loved me.

I still love you as affectionately as ye once loved me.

Wesley: Gal 4:12 - -- I have received no personal injury from you.

I have received no personal injury from you.

JFB: Gal 4:12 - -- "As I have in my life among you cast off Jewish habits, so do ye; for I am become as ye are," namely, in the non-observance of legal ordinances. "The ...

"As I have in my life among you cast off Jewish habits, so do ye; for I am become as ye are," namely, in the non-observance of legal ordinances. "The fact of my laying them aside among Gentiles, shows that I regard them as not at all contributing to justification or sanctification. Do you regard them in the same light, and act accordingly." His observing the law among the Jews was not inconsistent with this, for he did so only in order to win them, without compromising principle. On the other hand, the Galatian Gentiles, by adopting legal ordinances, showed that they regarded them as needful for salvation. This Paul combats.

JFB: Gal 4:12 - -- Namely, at the period when I first preached the Gospel among you, and when I made myself as you are, namely, living as a Gentile, not as a Jew. You at...

Namely, at the period when I first preached the Gospel among you, and when I made myself as you are, namely, living as a Gentile, not as a Jew. You at that time did me no wrong; "ye did not despise my temptation in the flesh" (Gal 4:14): nay, you "received me as an angel of God." Then in Gal 4:16, he asks, "Have I then, since that time, become your enemy by telling you the truth?"

Clarke: Gal 4:12 - -- Be as I am - Thoroughly addicted to the Christian faith and worship, from the deepest conviction of its truth

Be as I am - Thoroughly addicted to the Christian faith and worship, from the deepest conviction of its truth

Clarke: Gal 4:12 - -- For I am as ye are - I was formerly a Jew, and as zealously addicted to the rites and ceremonies of Judaism as ye are, but I am saved from that mean...

For I am as ye are - I was formerly a Jew, and as zealously addicted to the rites and ceremonies of Judaism as ye are, but I am saved from that mean and unprofitable dependence: "Be therefore as I am now; who was once as you now are."Others think the sense to be this: "Be as affectionate to me as I am to you; for ye were once as loving to me as I am now to you.

Clarke: Gal 4:12 - -- Ye have not injured me at all - I do not thus earnestly entreat you to return to your Christian profession because your perversion has been any loss...

Ye have not injured me at all - I do not thus earnestly entreat you to return to your Christian profession because your perversion has been any loss to me, nor because your conversion can be to me any gain: ye have not injured me at all, ye only injure yourselves; and I entreat you, through the intense love I bear to you, as my once beloved brethren in Christ Jesus, to return to him from whom ye have revolted.

Calvin: Gal 4:12 - -- 12.Be as I am. Having till now spoken roughly, he begins to adopt a milder strain. The former harshness had been more than justified by the heinousne...

12.Be as I am. Having till now spoken roughly, he begins to adopt a milder strain. The former harshness had been more than justified by the heinousness of the offense; but as he wished to do good, he resolves to adopt a style of conciliation. It is the part of a wise pastor to consider, not what those who have wandered may justly deserve, but what may be the likeliest method of bringing them back to the right path. He must “be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and doctrine.” (2Ti 4:2.) Following the method which he had recommended to Timothy, he leaves off chiding, and begins to use entreaties. I beseech you, he says, and calls them brethren, to assure them that no bitterness had mingled with his reproofs.

The words, be as I am, refer to the affection of the mind. As he endeavors to accommodate himself to them, so he wishes that they would do the like by him in return. For I am as ye are. “As I have no other object in view than to promote your benefit, so it is proper that you should be prevailed on to adopt moderate views, and to lend a willing, obedient ear to my instructions.” And here again pastors are reminded of their duty to come down, as far as they can, to the people, and to study the various dispositions of those with whom they have to deal, if they wish to obtain compliance with their message. The proverb still holds: “to be loved, you must be lovely.”

Ye have not injured me at all. This is intended to remove the suspicion which might have rendered his former reproofs more disagreeable. If we think that a person is speaking under a sense of injury, or revenging a private quarrel, we turn away our minds from him entirely, and are sure to torture whatever he says into an unfavourable interpretation. Paul therefore meets the rising prejudice by saying, “So far as respects myself, I have no cause to complain of you. It is not on my own account, nor from any hostility to you, that I feel warmly; and therefore, if I use strong language, it must arise from some other cause than hatred or anger.”

TSK: Gal 4:12 - -- be : Gal 2:14, Gal 6:14; Gen 34:15; 1Ki 22:4; Act 21:21; 1Co 9:20-23; Phi 3:7, Phi 3:8 ye : 2Co 2:5

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Gal 4:12 - -- Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am ... - There is great brevity in this passage, and no little obscurity, and a great many different interpret...

Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am ... - There is great brevity in this passage, and no little obscurity, and a great many different interpretations have been given of it by commentators. The various views expressed may be seen in Bloomfield’ s Crit. Dig. Locke renders it, "Let you and I be as if we were all one, Think yourselves to be very me; as I in my own mind put no difference at all between you and myself."Koppe explains it thus: Imitate my example; for I, though a Jew by birth, care no more for Jewish rites than you."Rosenmuller explains it, "Imitate my manner of life in rejecting the Jewish rites; as I, having renounced the Jewish rites, was much like you when I preached the gospel to you."Other interpretations may be seen in Chandler, Doddridge, Calvin, etc. In our version there seems to be an impropriety of expression; for if he was as they were it would seem to be a matter of course that they would be like him, or would resemble him. The sense of the passage, however, it seems to me cannot be difficult. The reference is doubtless to the Jewish rites and customs, and to the question whether they were binding on Christians. Paul’ s object is to persuade them to abandon them. He appeals to them, therefore, by his own example. And it means evidently, "Imitate me in this thing. Follow my example, and yield no conformity to those rites and customs."The ground on which he asks them to imitate him may be either:

(1)    That he had abandoned them or,

(2)    Because he asks them to yield a point to him.

He had done so in many instances for their welfare, and had made many sacrifices for their salvation, and he now asks them to yield this one point, and to become as he was, and to cease these Jewish observances, as he had done.

For I am as ye are - Greek "For I as ye."This means, I suppose, "For I have conformed to your customs in many things. I have abandoned my own peculiarities; given up my customs as far as possible; conformed to you as Gentiles as far as I could do, in order to benefit and save you. I have laid aside the uniqueness of the Jew on the principle of becoming all things to all men (Notes, 1Co 9:20-22), in order that I might save you. I ask in return only the slight sacrifice that you will now become like me in the matter under consideration."

Ye have not injured me at all - "It is not a personal matter. I have no cause of complaint. You have done me no personal wrong. There is no variance between us; no unkind feeling; no injury done as individuals. I may, therefore, with the more freedom, ask you to yield this point, when I assure you that I do not feel personally injured. I have no wrong to complain of, and I ask it on higher grounds than would be an individual request: it is for your good, and the good of the great cause."When Christians turn away from the truth, and disregard the instructions and exhortations of pastors, and become conformed to the world, it is not a personal matter, or a matter of personal offence to them, painful as it may be to them. They have no special reason to say that they are personally injured. It is a higher matter. The cause suffers. The interests of religion are injured. The church at large is offended, and the Saviour is "wounded in the house of his friends."Conformity to the world, or a lapse into some sin, is a public offence, and should be regarded as an injury done to the cause of the Redeemer. It shows the magnanimity of Paul, that though they had abandoned his doctrines, and forgotten his love and his toils in their welfare, he did not regard it as a personal offence, and did not consider himself personally injured. An ambitious man or an impostor would have made that the main, if not the only thing.

Poole: Gal 4:12 - -- Be as I am; for I am as ye are be as friendly to me as I am to you: see the like phrase, 1Ki 22:4 . But how doth the apostle say they had not injured...

Be as I am; for I am as ye are be as friendly to me as I am to you: see the like phrase, 1Ki 22:4 . But how doth the apostle say they had not injured him at all, when it is manifest they had defamed him?

Answer. He had forgiven, or was ready to forgive, this to them; he had no desire or design to be revenged on them. Or in this particular thing of Judaizing, for which he had been reflecting upon them, they had done him no personal injury; it was only his care for and love to their souls, which had drawn out this discourse from him; not any particular prejudice to them, or any desire he had to take any revenge upon them, for any personal injury done to himself.

Haydock: Gal 4:12 - -- Be ye as I, for I also am as you. I add no word in the translation, because it is uncertain what is to be understood: some give this construction, b...

Be ye as I, for I also am as you. I add no word in the translation, because it is uncertain what is to be understood: some give this construction, be you as I am, because I also was, as you now are; and they expound them thus: lay aside your zeal for the Jewish ceremonies as I have done, who was once as zealous for them as you seem now to be. Others would have the construction and sense to be: be you as I am, because I am as you; that is, be affected to me, and love me, as I have still a true affection and love for you, which is agreeable to what follows, you have not offended me at all. (Witham)

Gill: Gal 4:12 - -- Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am,.... Though they had gone so far backwards, yet still hoping well of them that they would he reclaimed, he styles ...

Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am,.... Though they had gone so far backwards, yet still hoping well of them that they would he reclaimed, he styles them "brethren": not in a carnal but spiritual relation, as being born of God, and belonging to his family; and out of his sincere and hearty love for them as his brethren in Christ, he exhorts them to be as he was; which some understand of affection, as desiring them to show the same love to him as to themselves, that he might be to them as another I, as a part of themselves; so true friendship makes, and true friends look upon each other to be, as Jonathan and David, and the first Christians were, of one heart and soul. But this phrase rather seems to have regard to likeness and imitation; and the sense is, that he would have them to be as he was, and do as he did; to be as free from the law, and the servitude and bondage of it, as he was; to reckon themselves dead unto it, as he did; and to relinquish the observance of days, and months, and times, and years, and any and every part of the ceremonial law, and to account all these things, as he had done, loss and dung for Christ; and this he presses, not in an authoritative way, laying his commands as an apostle upon them, but in a kind and gentle manner entreating them: and which he backs with the following reason or argument,

for I am as ye are; as your very selves; I have the same love for you, you have for yourselves; I love you as I do myself; this way go such interpreters that understand the exhortation to regard love and affection: but rather the meaning is, be as I am, and do as I do, "because I was as you are"; so the Syriac and Arabic versions read the words. Some think that the apostle particularly addresses the Jews in these churches; and that his sense is, that he was born a Jew, as they were, was brought up in the Jewish religion, and in the observance of these things, as they had been, and yet he had relinquished them, therefore would have them do so likewise: or rather his intention is, that he had been as zealous for the observation of the ceremonial law, and all the rituals of it, as they now were; and though he was a Jew by birth, and had had a Jewish education, and so had been prejudiced in favour of these things, yet he had renounced them all; and therefore they who were Gentiles, and were never under obligation to them, should never think of coming into bondage by them; and since he had accommodated himself to them, and had become all things to all, that he might gain some, whether Jews or Gentiles, so he hoped they would condescend to him, and follow his example: or this may have respect, not to his former but present state, according to our version; and the sense be, I am as you are, and you are as I am with respect to things spiritual; we are both alike in Christ, chosen in him, and redeemed by him; are equally regenerated by his Spirit, and are all the children of God by faith in him, and no more servants; are all equally Christ's free men, and have a right to the same privileges and immunities; and therefore be as I am, as free from observing the ceremonies of the law, and so from the bondage of it, since we are upon an equal foot, and upon the same foundation in Christ.

Ye have not injured me at all; what injury they had done was to God, whose will it was that these things should be abolished; and to Christ, who had broken down the middle wall of partition; and to the Gospel, which proclaimed liberty to the captives; and to their own souls, by entangling themselves with the yoke of bondage; but no personal private injury was done to the apostle by their compliance with the law. This he says, lest they should think that he spoke out of anger and resentment, and on account of any personal affront offered to him; which leads him to take notice of their former kindness and respect to him, and which he designs as a reason why they should pay the same deference to him now as then.

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Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Gal 4:12 Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.

Geneva Bible: Gal 4:12 ( 5 ) Brethren, I beseech you, be as I [am]; for I [am] as ye [are]: ye have not injured me at all. ( 5 ) He moderates and qualifies those things in ...

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Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Gal 4:1-31 - --1 We were under the law till Christ came, as the heir is under the guardian till he be of age.5 But Christ freed us from the law;7 therefore we are se...

Combined Bible: Gal 4:12 - --color="#000000"> 12. Be as I am; for I am as ye are.      Up to this point Paul has been occupied with the doctrinal as...

MHCC: Gal 4:12-18 - --The apostle desires that they would be of one mind with him respecting the law of Moses, as well as united with him in love. In reproving others, we s...

Matthew Henry: Gal 4:12-16 - -- That these Christians might be the more ashamed of their defection from the truth of the gospel which Paul had preached to them, he here reminds the...

Barclay: Gal 4:12-20 - --Paul makes not a theological but a personal appeal. He reminds them that for their sake he had become a Gentile; he had cut adrift from the traditio...

Constable: Gal 3:1--5:1 - --III. THEOLOGICAL AFFIRMATION OF SALVATION BY FAITH 3:1--4:31 Here begins the theological section of the epistle,...

Constable: Gal 4:1-31 - --B. Clarification of the doctrine ch. 4 In chapter 3 the Jews' preoccupation with the Law of Moses was fo...

Constable: Gal 4:12-20 - --2. The historical illustration 4:12-20 Paul appealed next to his past contacts with the Galatians and called on them to remember his visits to Galatia...

College: Gal 4:1-31 - --GALATIANS 4 3. The Full Rights of the Children (4:1-7) 1 What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, a...

McGarvey: Gal 4:12 - --I beseech you, brethren, become as I am, for I also am become as ye are. Ye did me no wrong

Lapide: Gal 4:1-31 - --CHAPTER 4 SYNOPSIS OF THE CHAPTER i. He continues the argument of the preceding chapter that the Jews, like children and slaves, were under the Jew...

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Introduction / Outline

Robertson: Galatians (Book Introduction) The Epistle To The Galatians Probable Date a.d. 56 Or 57 By Way of Introduction It is a pity that we are not able to visualize more clearly the ...

JFB: Galatians (Book Introduction) THE internal and external evidence for Paul's authorship is conclusive. The style is characteristically Pauline. The superscription, and allusions to ...

JFB: Galatians (Outline) SUPERSCRIPTION. GREETINGS. THE CAUSE OF HIS WRITING IS THEIR SPEEDY FALLING AWAY FROM THE GOSPEL HE TAUGHT. DEFENSE OF HIS TEACHING: HIS APOSTOLIC CA...

TSK: Galatians (Book Introduction) The Galatians, or Gallograecians, were the descendants of Gauls, who migrated from their own country, and after a series of disasters, got possession ...

TSK: Galatians 4 (Chapter Introduction) Overview Gal 4:1, We were under the law till Christ came, as the heir is under the guardian till he be of age; Gal 4:5, But Christ freed us from t...

Poole: Galatians 4 (Chapter Introduction) CHAPTER 4

MHCC: Galatians (Book Introduction) The churches in Galatia were formed partly of converted Jews, and partly of Gentile converts, as was generally the case. St. Paul asserts his apostoli...

MHCC: Galatians 4 (Chapter Introduction) (Gal 4:1-7) The folly of returning to legal observances for justification. (Gal 4:8-11) The happy change made in the Gentile believers. (Gal 4:12-18...

Matthew Henry: Galatians (Book Introduction) An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians This epistle of Paul is directed not to the church or churches...

Matthew Henry: Galatians 4 (Chapter Introduction) The apostle, in this chapter, is still carrying on the same general design as in the former - to recover these Christians from the impressions made...

Barclay: Galatians (Book Introduction) A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTERS OF PAUL The Letters Of Paul There is no more interesting body of documents in the New Testament than the letter...

Barclay: Galatians 4 (Chapter Introduction) The Days Of Childhood (Gal_4:1-7) Progress In Reverse (Gal_4:8-11) Love's Appeal (Gal_4:12-20) An Old Story And A New Meaning (Gal_4:21-31; Gal_...

Constable: Galatians (Book Introduction) Introduction Historical Background "The most uncontroverted matter in the study of Gal...

Constable: Galatians (Outline)

Constable: Galatians Galatians Bibliography Allen, Kenneth W. "Justification by Faith." Bibliotheca Sacra 135:538 (April-June 1978):...

Haydock: Galatians (Book Introduction) THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL, THE APOSTLE, TO THE GALATIANS. INTRODUCTION. The Galatians, soon after St. Paul had preached the gospel to them, were...

Gill: Galatians (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO GALATIANS The persons to whom this epistle is written were not such who made up a single church only, in some certain town or city,...

Gill: Galatians 4 (Chapter Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO GALATIANS 4 In this chapter the apostle discourses concerning the abrogation of the ceremonial law, under which the Old Testament s...

College: Galatians (Book Introduction) FOREWORD Since the earliest days of the concept of a commentary series jointly authored by church of Christ and Christian church scholars, I have eag...

College: Galatians (Outline) OUTLINE I. AUTHORITY: The Apostolic Gospel - 1:1-2:21 A. Greeting - 1:1-5 B. Paul's Astonishment - 1:6-10 C. Paul's Call by God - 1:11-17 ...

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